Toronto-based OCAD University has announced a new paid internship program to give students and graduates in its digital programs more opportunities for real world learning beyond the classroom.

The program will offer six-month paid internships to 15 grads and 11current graduate students of OCAD University’s Digital Futures,Inclusive Design,Industrial Design and Environmental Design programs. To qualify for agraduate internship, alumni must have graduated from one of thoseprograms within the past five years.

The students and alumni must be placed in the internships atparticipating companies by March 31, 2014. Firms accepted forparticipation will receive up to $15,000 for each internship positionand must also match that amount.

The program pairs OCAD U. gradsandstudents with companies. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The program will be administered by OCAD University and MitacsEnterprise, anon-profit research and training organization which is funded by theFederal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev).

Christine Wong has been an on-air reporter for a national daily show on Rogers TV and at High Tech TV, a weekly news magazine on CTV's Ottawa affiliate. She was also an associate producer at Report On Business Television (now called BNN) and CBC's The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos. As an associate producer at Slice TV, she helped launch two national daily talk shows, The Mom Show and Three Takes. Recently, she was a Staff Writer at ITBusiness.ca and is now a freelance contributor.